uurfantasy

Can I paint my stock grill black even though I have distronic? Will the paint affect my distronic? I noticed that the guard infront of the distronic sensor is also made of plastic and I am wondering if that blocks the sensor then I dont think a layer of paint would affect it anymore. Does anyone have experience with painting their distronic grill black?

jangy

I wouldn't paint the guard or any of that part. Why not just take the chrome portion off and paint it?

uurfantasy

that chrome portion is covered by the clear plastic front face and that can't be removed unless it is heated and unglued

jangy

Then the only other option would be to tape it up and paint it. I remember when all the aftermarket grills came out that you could not use them with distronic. I don't know if too many (if any) painted the grills. How much is a new one? I'd get a new one and practice on it or just DO NOT paint in front of the sensor.

Iceman

I had the distronic grill painted black on my former black E500...no problems at all. If you think about the thickness of the plastic (it is not see-through) and the comparable super-thin layer of paint, there is really no reason for the paint to be a hinderance. I had mine painted for a couple of years and never had a problem. Unfortunately I never took any pictures with the grill painted but I thought it looked pretty good. Good luck.

supre55

I painted mine all black (before replaing it with a different style) and I have distronic. I had no effect whatsoever on the distronic's performance from what I could tell. All it is, from what I understand, is a deflector to keep rain water and debris from fouling the sensor. My new 3 bar grille has no deflector at all, and the only time I have challenges is during very heavy rains... which in Phoenix only happens a few times a year.

hamann69

same here I changed out my distronic grill to a regular grill because i didnt like the look of the sensor and it works fine.

jangy

Please elaborate?? How much and where? Any star in the middle?

supre55

Ahh, its nothing spectacular... Ebay special and it ran just a shade under $120 iirc. It is totally plastic, but fits perfect at the factory points using the factory clips. I've had it on for about 12k miles (daily driver) with no chips or dings.

Bullet Tooth

Has anyone posted a "how to" on painting your own grill? I have used the search function and can't find anything on an e55 grill. There is a good one on the C forum, but nothing on ours. Any tips from anyone that has done their own grill?

jangy

Crap, I just can't handle the star but I love the slats.


Not much to write about. Basically, the "best" would be to take the chrome face off and paint it and replace it onto the frame. No matter what, I have NEVER seen one that can be painted and not chip. Most of us just get a refresher coat from time to time...

oc79

Does anyone know where I could get the grill supre55 has (3 posts above this) without the MB star?
With Just the 3 slats
Do they even make one?